Veracity Capital LLC Acquires 85 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Veracity Capital LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $524.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.